


Room For Dessert

by Vorcha_Girl



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Dinner, F/F, Fluff, Kissing, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9605102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vorcha_Girl/pseuds/Vorcha_Girl
Summary: Shepard cooks Liara dinner for their anniversary ... or at least she tries to!





	

**Author's Note:**

>  

_A/N - Written for my good friend Anna (jubshepchubshep) on Tumblr! (The gorgeous artwork of Liara and Shepard and their varren pups is by her!) I had a ton of fun writing this - I haven't giggled at my own writing in quite some time. I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

 

This time, Shepard promised herself as she finished setting the table and turned her attention back on the cooking burbling away in the kitchen, the dinner she was preparing for Liara was going to be _perfect_.

_Not_ a disaster.

_Not_ slightly edible.

_Not_ kind of okay.

It would be _perfect_.

She had been planning this date night with Liara for weeks, and it hadn’t been easy! Sneaking away from your girlfriend to order her a dozen Thessia-grown lilac roses when she was the Shadowbroker wasn’t fun. Nor was organising cooking classes for asari delicacies when you were in the middle of a war. Not to mention that finding time away from the Normandy for the three-hour cooking classes hadn’t been easy during the war and she had missed most of them.

But everything had come together in the end, and the night was going to be perfect! _It had to be!_ The table was set with Anderson’s best crystal, the asari delicacies she had spent the afternoon slaving away on were almost finished, and the lilac roses with the heavenly scent were sitting in a vase surrounded by twinkling tealight candles.

Shepard hurried back to the kitchen, tottering slightly in the unfamiliar high heels, and lifted the lid on the soup she had left to simmer. She blanched at the lurid, almost neon-pink colour of the Thessian Starfruit Soup, her eyes widening as she pulled the recipe book to her and looked at the picture; it was supposed to be a rich violet colour.

Something had gone wrong … but what? She had followed all of the steps in the recipe! Well, almost all of them. She _had_ wandered away from the soup to set the table instead of staying put to stir it while it was simmering, but surely that couldn’t have caused it to change colour … could it?

Cautiously, she tasted a spoonful and pulled a face. It tasted sickly sweet to her human tongue, with a slightly sour aftertaste. Was that normal? Maybe that was how it was supposed to taste? The recipe had given only a vague description about the _heavenly tastes of Thessia_ which gave no clues about the actual taste. Huffing crankily, she tasted another spoonful and shrugged.

“Nothing I can do now,” she told herself as she gave the disturbingly coloured soup another stir and removed it from the stove. “Either she likes it or she doesn’t!”

A knock on the door sent her heart rate skyrocketing, and she quickly checked on the Helix Cluster themed cherry tarts she’d whipped up for dessert – they _looked_ fine – and then hurried to the door. Shepard fixed her hair in the mirror by the door before she cracked it open, trying to look casual and certain she was failing miserably.

Liara always sent her into a spin.

And tonight was no different; Liara looked wonderful. She wore a skin-tight white gown with luminous sequins that glimmered in the lights, and her stunning features were accentuated with light makeup. Her blues eyes shone happily as she smiled at Shepard and stepped forward for a kiss, her hands sliding around her waist as their lips met, warm and soft. She smelled delicious; like flowers, biotics, and something spicy. An indefinable scent that sent waves of goose bumps prickling over her skin, and summoned up memories of long nights spent wrapped in each others arms.

“Hello Shepard,” Liara sounded amused as she broke the kiss and pulled away, her lilting voice soft as her fingers tightened about her waist. “I’m glad I’m not overdressed. I was half-afraid I would turn up and find you in an old shirt, jeans, and sneakers.”

Shepard laughed huskily. “Well, I was tempted, but tonight is special.”

She gestured for Liara to follow her inside and closed the door behind her, taking the opportunity to smooth down the material of the black cocktail dress she was wearing. It wasn’t often that she put herself through the ordeal of wearing high heels or of squeezing herself into a dress, but tonight marked their anniversary, and she wanted things to be special. Liara loved seeing her in a dress, and there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do to make her smile.

“That smells wonderful!” Liara whirled on the spot as she neared the kitchen, an expression of delight crossing her face. “And are those Thessian roses?”

“Yep!” Shepard took her hand and led her to the table, pulling out the chair and settling Liara down. “And I cooked some asari foods too!”

If Liara’s smile faltered for a moment it wasn’t obvious, and Shepard pretended not to notice as she whirled away to get the first course. Okay, so maybe her cooking was famous amongst the Normandy crew for all the wrong reasons – but things were about to change!

She brought out the starter, a simple asari salad with a dressing the salarian cooking instructor had claimed was impossible to get wrong, and dished out some for the both of them.

“This looks amazing!” Liara leaned forward, her wide blue eyes taking in the bright array of edible flowers that decorated the salad greens. She glanced up at her suddenly. “When did you find time to learn to cook?”

Shepard grinned. “I snuck off for lessons as often as I could. I’ve been planning this for months!”

“Oh, Shepard!” Liara’s eyes shimmered and she reached across the table to take her hand. “Thank you!”

She squeezed her hand in return and then pointedly picked up her fork. “Enjoy!”

Shepard scooped up a mouthful of salad, popped it in her mouth … and froze. The dressing had congealed into a sickly-sweet goo instead of the light vinaigrette she’d wanted, and it settled onto her tongue in a cloying mass. Panic stricken, she glanced over at Liara, who’s eyes were still shining – though it looked more like they were _watering_ as she swallowed with difficulty.

“That’s … a very interesting salad,” she commented lightly, drinking half a glass of water and then picking at the salad. “Is it a human delicacy?”

“Uh, it’s supposed to be asari,” Shepard told her, forcing herself to eat another mouthful, too embarrassed to mention that the dressing wasn’t supposed to taste like this. “But a salarian taught the class. So maybe it was a, uh, fusion dish or something.”

“It’s very … interesting.”

_Interesting?_ That didn’t sound good. Shepard wolfed down the rest of her salad with a forced smile, some of her anxiety draining away when Liara ate the remainder of her salad without further comment. Surely if it hadn’t tasted very good she would have said something? Right?

She cleared the plates when they were done and ladled up two bowls of the soup, then served it up with a flourish and a bow.

“Thessian starfruit soup!” she said proudly.

For a moment Liara said nothing, then she cleared her throat and blinked slowly.

“Uh, Shepard,” she said slowly as she picked up her spoon and poked at the soup. “Why is the soup _pink_?”

“Well,” Shepard thoughtfully tugged on her lower lip and shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure. I think maybe it’s because I didn’t stir it properly when it was simmering? But I think it tastes fine!”

Liara smiled brightly. “Oh, I’m sure it does! I’ve just never seen _pink_ starfruit soup before.” She carefully scooped some liquid into her spoon and cautiously sipped it, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks as she dropped the spoon back into the bowl and cleared her throat. “Uh, Shepard, have you by any chance _tasted_ starfruit soup before?”

Shepard paused with her own spoon halfway to her lips. “Well … _no_. I was called back to the Normandy before I could taste it in the cooking class. But this didn’t taste too bad when I had some earlier. Unless,” she frowned at Liara. “Oh no, is it _bad_? I spent hours on it, but you can tell me if it is. I’d rather know the truth.”

“No! Oh no!” Liara said quickly, scooping up more liquid and making a show of sipping it with every semblance of enjoyment. “It’s … delicious.” She swallowed the soup and went for her water again, drinking the other half of the glass. “ _Really_ delicious.”

Shepard watched her eat several more spoonfuls, noticing that her blush deepened in colour the more she had. Eventually she forced herself to start sipping her own soup; it was just as sickly sweet-and-sour as it had been this afternoon. It was a struggle not to pull a face, but each time she looked over at Liara, her lover smiled encouragingly at her, so she forced herself to smile back – not wanting to offend her by letting her know just how much she wasn’t enjoying her culture’s favourite dish.

Eventually she decided she couldn’t choke down anymore of the ‘ _heavenly tastes of Thessia’_ and she set her spoon aside.

“Boy,” she declared loudly. “I sure am getting full.”

“Yes, me too,” Liara agreed with obvious relief. “I couldn’t eat another bite.”

“Well, hopefully you have room for dessert!” Shepard stood up and collected their bowls. “Because I have a treat for you!”

“ _Dessert_? _Treat_? Oh Goddess!” Liara breathed the words in something that sounded like awe … or terror.

Shepard winked at her shocked face, hoping it was the former. “Yeah, I know you’re surprised that I baked! But I know how much you like your sweet stuff!”

“Shepard, really,” Liara got to her feet quickly, “there’s no need-“

“Uh-uh!” Shepard brought the desserts out on a tray – each cherry tart topped with whipped cream, sprinkles of asari sugar dust, and a Helix Cluster Zero-G cherry. They _looked_ amazing. “I spent all day on these and they’re your favourites! You have to try one. I insist!”

Liara sank back into her seat weakly, her eyes fixed on the approaching desserts as though she expected them to bite her. “Well,” she said slowly. “They do _look_ good … and if you insist-“

“Yep!” Shepard winked as she set the tray down. “And I won’t take no for an answer!”

They each took a tart and Shepard bit into hers with gusto. The cream was sweetly delicious and the cherry was out of this world, for a moment she preened, silently congratulating herself on making something so delightful … and then she finally tasted the tart itself and her mouth seemed to shrivel.

It was revolting.

There was no question about it; the tart was foul and it tasted mouth-shrivellingly bitter. Her tongue curled away from the horrible taste and without thinking Shepard spat the overcooked pastry out on the plate. The pastry was overcooked and the inside was goopy and undercooked, and with eyes that were starting to water with shame, she watched as Liara gagged, obviously struggling to swallow her mouthful, and eventually delicately spat out her mouthful into a napkin.

For a heartbeat they stared at each other with twin expressions of distaste, their lips curling from the horrible taste, and then they burst into laughter.

“Shepard, these are terrible!” Liara wiped her mouth with the napkin, grimacing. “I was going to try and force it down, but … it’s the worst one yet!”

She started to laugh and then froze. “Wait a minute, what do you mean, the worst one yet?” Shepard narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t you like the other dishes? You said they were good!”

Her girlfriend pulled a face. “I … may have been trying to spare your feeling, but they really weren’t very good.” She stood up and moved to Shepard’s side, tugging her to her feet and looping her arms around her waist “You’re good at a lot of things, but cooking really isn’t one of them.”

“But … the soup wasn’t that bad, was it??”

Liara raised an eyebrow. “You know how you said you left your cooking class early? Well, I think you might have missed a few important steps. In fact, I know so. Because Thessian Starfruit Soup is supposed to be served _chilled_ , not piping hot.”

Shepard felt her face flush. “Oh.”

No wonder it had tasted so awful.

She remembered Liara’s expression as she’d forced the soup down and abruptly started giggle. “Oh Liara! You ate so much of it too! You’re adorable!”

“Well, you spent all day on it!” Liara gave her another squeeze and she went up on tiptoes to gently press a kiss against her lips. “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“And to think,” Shepard said softly, winding her own arms around Liara’s neck as she pulled her close. “I didn’t want to offend _you_ by letting you think I didn’t like your asari food!”

They both laughed as they wound closer and their mouths met in a deeper kiss; their tongues sliding together, warm and hot, as Liara’s hands found the zip at the back of Shepard’s dress.

“You know,” she said breathlessly as she broke the kiss, her breath warm against Shepard’s ear; sending shivers of delight down her spine. “I really do like you in a dress. It’s sexy. But I like you even better _out_ of it.”

Shepard smiled wickedly and turned her head to nibble along Liara’s jaw. “Hmmm,” she hummed softly. “I like the way you think.” She stepped back and caught Liara’s hand, and with the other she picked up the tray of tarts. “I know these weren’t very good,” she explained when she saw Liara’s expression. “But the cream and cherries were delicious and I can think of one or two good uses for them.”

She winked at her girlfriend and pulled her in for another kiss, the tray wobbling dangerously as Liara’s biotics ghosted along her skin in delicate licks of blue flame.

“Well, I _did_ save room for dessert,” Liara retorted softly, her eyes dancing. “It would be a shame to let all that cream go to waste.”

“Oh, it would be a crime,” Shepard agreed as they walked hip to hip towards the bedroom. “Say,” she added conversationally as she let an arm snake around Liara’s waist possessively, “have I ever shown you what I can do to a cherry stem with _just_ my tongue?”

“No,” Liara said, her voice dropping to a purr. “But I’m _very_ much looking forward to finding out!”

* * *

 

_A/N - Hehe, they're so cute! I hope you liked this - reviews are always welcome, especially since I'm only new to writing fShiara fanfiction._


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